1 866 140 EFFECT OF YOGA PROGRAM ON EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS OF ADOLESCENTS DWELLING IN AN ORPHAN HOME: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. EXECUTIVE FUNCTION (EF) IS IMPORTANT FOR PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OF CHILDREN. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT CHILDREN WITH POVERTY AND EARLY LIFE STRESS HAVE REDUCED EF. THE AIM OF THE STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA PROGRAM ON THE EF OF ORPHAN ADOLESCENTS. SEVENTY TWO APPARENTLY HEALTHY ORPHAN ADOLESCENTS RANDOMIZED AND ALLOCATED INTO TWO GROUPS AS YOGA GROUP (N = 40; 14 GIRLS, AGE = 12.69 +/- 1.35 YRS) AND WAIT LIST CONTROL (WLC) GROUP (N = 32, 13 GIRLS, AGE = 12.58 +/- 1.52 YRS). YOGA GROUP UNDERWENT THREE MONTHS OF YOGA PROGRAM IN A SCHEDULE OF 90 MIN PER DAY, FOUR DAYS PER WEEK WHEREAS THE WLC GROUP FOLLOWED THE ROUTINE ACTIVITIES. THEY WERE ASSESSED BY STROOP COLOR-WORD TASK, DIGIT SYMBOL SUBSTITUTION TEST (DSST), DIGITS SPAN TEST AND TRIAL MAKING TEST (TMT) AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF THE PROGRAM. THE REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA SHOWED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN TIME AND GROUP INTERACTIONS (P < 0.05) FOR ALL SUBTESTS OF STROOP COLOR-WORD TASK AND DIGIT SPAN TEST AND PART-A OF TMT WHEREAS THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE FOUND IN DSST AND TMT (PART-B). THE POST-HOC TEST WITH BONFERRONI ADJUSTMENT ALSO SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS (P < 0.001) WITHIN THE YOGA GROUP IN ALL TEST SCORES WHILE IN WRONG SCORE OF DSST DID NOT EXHIBIT SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION. WHEREAS THE WLC GROUP, SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT (P < 0.05) IN STROOP COLOR, COLOR-WORD SCORE, NET SCORE OF DSST, DIGIT SPAN FORWARD AND DIGIT SPAN TOTAL. THREE MONTHS YOGA PROGRAM WAS FOUND USEFUL FOR THE YOUNG ORPHAN ADOLESCENTS IN IMPROVING THEIR EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS. 2017 2 1351 44 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF A YOGA BREATHING PRACTICE ON ATTENTION AND ANXIETY IN PRE-TEEN CHILDREN. PRE-TEEN CHILDREN FACE STRESSORS RELATED TO THEIR TRANSITION FROM CHILDHOOD TO ADOLESCENCE, WITH A SIMULTANEOUS INCREASE IN ACADEMIC PRESSURE. THE PRESENT STUDY COMPARED THE IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF 18 MIN OF (I) HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING WITH (II) YOGA-BASED BREATH AWARENESS AND (III) SITTING QUIETLY, ON (A) ATTENTION AND (B) ANXIETY, IN 61 PRE-TEEN CHILDREN (AGED BETWEEN 11 AND 12 YEARS; 25 GIRLS). ATTENTION WAS ASSESSED USING A SIX LETTER CANCELLATION TASK AND SPIELBERGER'S STATE TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY STAI-S WAS USED TO MEASURE ANXIETY BEFORE AND AFTER THE THREE PRACTICES, PRACTICED ON SEPARATE DAYS. REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA, FOLLOWED BY BONFERRONI ADJUSTED POST-HOC ANALYSES SHOWED AN INCREASE IN TOTAL ATTEMPTS AND NET SCORES AFTER HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (P < 0.05), WHILE WRONG ATTEMPTS INCREASED AFTER YOGA BASED BREATH AWARENESS (P < 0.05). ANXIETY DECREASED COMPARABLY AFTER ALL THREE INTERVENTIONS. THE 25 GIRLS IN THE GROUP HAD THE SAME TREND OF RESULTS AS THE WHOLE GROUP WITH RESPECT TO THE ATTENTION-BASED CANCELLATION TASK, WHILE BOYS SHOWED NO, HOW SINCE CHANGE. FOR BOTH GIRLS AND BOYS, ANXIETY DECREASED AFTER ALL THREE 18MIN INTERVENTIONS. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING COULD BE A SHORT, USEFUL SCHOOL BASED PRACTICE TO IMPROVE ATTENTION AND REDUCE ANXIETY. 2019 3 1559 29 LONG-TERM VIHANGAM YOGA MEDITATION AND SCORES ON TESTS OF ATTENTION. ALTHOUGH THE LITERATURE INDICATES THAT MEDITATION HAS BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON SEVERAL ASPECTS OF HUMAN FUNCTIONING, FEW STUDIES HAVE SPECIFICALLY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF MEDITATION ON VARIOUS DOMAINS OF ATTENTION. THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO EXAMINE THE DIFFERENCES IN VARIOUS DOMAINS OF ATTENTION BETWEEN LONG-TERM CONCENTRATIVE MEDITATORS VERSUS MATCHED CONTROLS. 15 PRACTITIONERS OF VIHANGAM YOGA (> 10 YR. EXPERIENCE) WERE ENROLLED IN THE STUDY. CONTROLS MATCHED ON AGE, SEX, AND YEARS OF EDUCATION WERE RECRUITED. BOTH GROUPS WERE ADMINISTERED THE STROOP, TRAIL-MAKING, AND DIGIT SYMBOL SUBSTITUTION TESTS AS WELL AS THE DIGIT FORWARD AND DIGIT BACKWARD TESTS. THE GROUP OF VIHANGAM YOGIS HAD SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER MEAN PERFORMANCE ON ALL TESTS OF ATTENTION. LONG-TERM VIHANGAM YOGA MEDITATION IMPROVES ATTENTION SPAN, PROCESSING SPEED, ATTENTION ALTERNATION ABILITY, AND PERFORMANCE IN INTERFERENCE TESTS. 2010 4 858 62 EFFECT OF YOGA OR PHYSICAL EXERCISE ON PHYSICAL, COGNITIVE AND EMOTIONAL MEASURES IN CHILDREN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE SEPARATELY REPORTED THE EFFECTS OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND YOGA IN CHILDREN, SHOWING PHYSICAL, COGNITIVE AND EMOTIONAL BENEFITS. OBJECTIVES: THE PRESENT RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL ASSESSED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA OR PHYSICAL EXERCISE ON PHYSICAL FITNESS, COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE, SELF-ESTEEM, AND TEACHER-RATED BEHAVIOR AND PERFORMANCE, IN SCHOOL CHILDREN. METHODS: 98 SCHOOL CHILDREN BETWEEN 8 TO 13 YEARS WERE RANDOMIZED AS YOGA AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE GROUPS {N = 49 EACH; (YOGA: 15 GIRLS, GROUP MEAN AGE 10.4 +/- 1.2 YEARS), (PHYSICAL EXERCISE: 23 GIRLS, GROUP MEAN AGE 10.5 +/- 1.3 YEARS)}. BOTH GROUPS WERE BLIND ASSESSED AFTER ALLOCATION, USING: (I) THE EUROFIT PHYSICAL FITNESS TEST BATTERY, (II) STROOP COLOR-WORD TASK FOR CHILDREN, (III) BATTLE'S SELF-ESTEEM INVENTORY AND (IV) THE TEACHERS' RATING OF THE CHILDREN'S OBEDIENCE, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, ATTENTION, PUNCTUALITY, AND BEHAVIOR WITH FRIENDS AND TEACHERS. AFTER ASSESSMENTS THE YOGA GROUP PRACTICED YOGA (BREATHING TECHNIQUES, POSTURES, GUIDED RELAXATION AND CHANTING), 45 MINUTES EACH DAY, 5 DAYS A WEEK. DURING THIS TIME THE PHYSICAL EXERCISE GROUP HAD JOGGING-IN-PLACE, RAPID REPETITIVE MOVEMENTS AND RELAY RACES OR GAMES. BOTH GROUPS WERE ASSESSED AT THE END OF 3 MONTHS. DATA WERE ANALYZED WITH RM ANOVA AND POST-HOC TESTS WERE BONFERRONI ADJUSTED. RESULTS: THERE WAS ONE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS. THIS WAS IN SOCIAL SELF-ESTEEM WHICH WAS HIGHER AFTER PHYSICAL EXERCISE COMPARED TO YOGA (P < 0.05). ALL THE CHANGES REPORTED BELOW ARE BASED ON AFTER-BEFORE COMPARISONS, WITHIN EACH GROUP. BOTH GROUPS SHOWED AN INCREASE IN BMI, AND NUMBER OF SIT-UPS (P < 0.001). BALANCE WORSENED IN THE PHYSICAL EXERCISE GROUP, WHILE PLATE TAPPING IMPROVED IN THE YOGA GROUP (P < 0.001). IN THE STROOP TASK BOTH GROUPS SHOWED IMPROVED COLOR, WORD- AND COLOR-WORD NAMING (P < 0.01), WHILE THE PHYSICAL EXERCISE GROUP SHOWED HIGHER INTERFERENCE SCORES. TOTAL, GENERAL AND PARENTAL SELF-ESTEEM IMPROVED IN THE YOGA GROUP (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: YOGA AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE ARE USEFUL ADDITIONS TO THE SCHOOL ROUTINE, WITH PHYSICAL EXERCISE IMPROVING SOCIAL SELF-ESTEEM. TRIAL REGISTRATION: THE STUDY WAS REGISTERED IN THE CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY OF INDIA (CTRI/2012/11/003112). 2013 5 746 37 EFFECT OF SAHAJ YOGA ON NEURO-COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS IN PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM MAJOR DEPRESSION. COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS ARE IMPAIRED IN MAJOR DEPRESSION. STUDIES ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS HAVE SHOWN IMPROVEMENT IN MEMORY, VIGILANCE AND ANXIETY LEVELS. 30 PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM MAJOR DEPRESSION (AGE 18 TO 45 YEARS) WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS: GROUP 1: (10 MALES AND 5 FEMALES) PATIENTS WHO PRACTISED SAHAJ YOGA MEDITATION AND ALSO RECEIVED CONVENTIONAL ANTI-DEPRESSANT MEDICATION. GROUP 2: (9 MALES AND 6 FEMALES) PATIENTS WHO ONLY RECEIVED CONVENTIONAL ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION. GROUP 1 PATIENTS WERE ADMINISTERED SAHAJ YOGA PRACTICE FOR 8 WEEKS. NEURO-COGNITIVE TEST BATTERY CONSISTING OF LETTER CANCELLATION TEST (LCT), TRAIL MAKING TEST 'A' (TTA), TRAIL MAKING TEST 'B' (TTB), RUFF FIGURAL FLUENCY TEST (RFFT), FORWARD DIGIT SPAN (FDS) & REVERSE DIGIT SPAN TEST (RDS) WAS USED TO ASSESS FOLLOWING COGNITIVE DOMAINS: ATTENTION SPAN, VISUO-MOTOR SPEED, SHORT-TERM MEMORY, WORKING MEMORY AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS. AFTER 8 WEEKS, BOTH GROUP 1 AND GROUP 2 SUBJECTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN LCT, TTA & TTB BUT IMPROVEMENT IN LCT WAS MORE MARKED IN GROUP 1 SUBJECTS. ALSO, THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN RDS SCORES IN ONLY GROUP 1 SUBJECTS (P < 0.05). THE RESULTS THEREBY, DEMONSTRATE THAT SAHAJ YOGA PRACTICE IN ADDITION TO THE IMPROVEMENT IN VARIOUS OTHER COGNITIVE DOMAINS SEEN WITH CONVENTIONAL ANTI-DEPRESSANTS, CAN LEAD TO ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENT IN EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS LIKE MANIPULATION OF INFORMATION IN THE VERBAL WORKING MEMORY AND ADDED IMPROVEMENT IN ATTENTION SPAN AND VISUO-MOTOR SPEED OF THE DEPRESSIVES. 2006 6 1356 43 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS IN PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM RELAPSING REMITTING MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY. COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT (CI) IS AN IMPORTANT FEATURE OF RELAPSING REMITTING MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (RRMS). YOGIC RELAXATION TECHNIQUES HAVE BEEN FOUND USEFUL IN IMPROVING VARIOUS COGNITIVE DOMAINS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. EIGHTEEN SUBJECTS (13 FEMALES) IN THE AGE RANGE OF 51.5 +/- 12.72 YEARS WITH THE DIAGNOSIS OF RRMS BY A NEUROLOGIST (MCDONALD CRITERIA 2010) SINCE LAST 18.16 +/- 12.59 YEARS WERE RECRUITED INTO THE STUDY FROM A NEURO-REHABILITATION CENTRE IN GERMANY. ASSESSMENTS WERE DONE BEFORE AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER TWO RANDOMLY ALLOCATED 30-MIN SESSIONS OF YOGIC RELAXATION: CYCLIC MEDITATION (CM) AND SR (SUPINE REST OR SHAVASANA). ASSESSMENTS WERE DONE FOR ATTENTION, PSYCHOMOTOR PERFORMANCE, INFORMATION PROCESSING SPEED, EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS, AND IMMEDIATE AND DELAYED RECALL USING STANDARD PSYCHOMETRIC TOOLS. RMANOVA WAS APPLIED TO ANALYSE THE DATA USING SPSS VERSION 10. BOTH CM AND SR SESSIONS IMPROVED SCORES ON DIGIT SYMBOL SUBSTITUTION TEST (DSST) (P < 0.01) AND AUDITORY VERBAL LEARNING TEST (AVLT) (P < 0.05). THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER PERFORMANCE IN TRAIL MAKING TEST (TMT)-A AND FORWARD DIGIT SPAN (FDS) AFTER CM AS COMPARED TO SR (P < 0.01). YOGIC RELAXATION TECHNIQUES MAY HAVE AN IMMEDIATE ENHANCING EFFECT ON PROCESSING SPEED, PSYCHOMOTOR PERFORMANCE, AND RECALL OF RRMS PATIENTS. CM IS BETTER THAN SR IN IMPROVING PROCESSING SPEED, SHORT-TERM MEMORY, AND VERBAL WORKING MEMORY. 2016 7 535 41 COMPARISON OF YOGA VERSUS PHYSICAL EXERCISE ON EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, ATTENTION, AND WORKING MEMORY IN ADOLESCENT SCHOOLCHILDREN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. PURPOSE: EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, ATTENTION, AND MEMORY ARE AN IMPORTANT INDICATOR OF COGNITIVE HEALTH IN CHILDREN. IN THIS STUDY, WE ANALYZE THE EFFECT OF YOGA AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE ON EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING, ATTENTION, AND MEMORY. METHODS: IN THIS PROSPECTIVE TWO-ARMED RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL, AROUND 802 STUDENTS FROM TEN SCHOOLS ACROSS FOUR DISTRICTS WERE RANDOMIZED TO RECEIVE DAILY 1 H YOGA TRAINING (N = 411) OR PHYSICAL EXERCISE (N = 391) FOR 2 MONTHS. EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, ATTENTION, AND MEMORY WERE STUDIED USING TRAIL MAKING TEST (TMT). YOGA (N = 377) AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE (N = 371) STUDENTS CONTRIBUTED DATA TO THE ANALYSES. THE DATA WERE ANALYZED USING INTENTION-TO-TREAT APPROACH USING STUDENT'S T-TEST. RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN NUMERICAL TMT (TMTN) VALUES WITHIN YOGA (T = -2.17; P < 0.03) AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY (PA) (T = -3.37; P < 0.001) GROUPS FOLLOWING INTERVENTIONAL PERIOD. HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN TMTN BETWEEN YOGA AND PA GROUPS (T = 0.44; P = 0.66). THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN ALPHABETICAL TMT (TMTA) VALUES WITHIN YOGA (T = 6.21; P < 0.00) AND PA GROUPS (T = 1.19; P < 0.234) FOLLOWING INTERVENTIONAL PERIOD. HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN TMTA BETWEEN YOGA AND PA GROUPS (T = 3.46; P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA IMPROVES EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, ATTENTION, AND WORKING MEMORY AS EFFECTIVELY AS PHYSICAL EXERCISE INTERVENTION IN ADOLESCENT SCHOOLCHILDREN. 2019 8 2319 41 TREATING THE CLIMACTERIC SYMPTOMS IN INDIAN WOMEN WITH AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO YOGA THERAPY: A RANDOMIZED CONTROL STUDY. OBJECTIVE: TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON THE CLIMACTERIC SYMPTOMS, PERCEIVED STRESS, AND PERSONALITY IN PERIMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. DESIGN: ONE HUNDRED TWENTY PARTICIPANTS (AGES 40-55 Y) WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO STUDY ARMS, IE, YOGA AND CONTROL. THE YOGA GROUP PRACTICED AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO YOGA THERAPY COMPRISING SURYA NAMASKARA (SUN SALUTATION) WITH 12 POSTURES, PRANAYAMA (BREATHING PRACTICES), AND AVARTAN DHYAN (CYCLIC MEDITATION), WHEREAS THE CONTROL GROUP PRACTICED A SET OF SIMPLE PHYSICAL EXERCISES UNDER SUPERVISION OF TRAINED TEACHERS FOR 8 WEEKS (1 H DAILY, 5 DAYS PER WEEK). THE ASSESSMENTS WERE MADE BY GREENE CLIMACTERIC SCALE, PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE, AND EYSENCK'S PERSONALITY INVENTORY BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION. RESULTS: OF THE THREE FACTORS OF THE GREENE CLIMACTERIC SCALE, THE MANN-WHITNEY TEST SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS (P < 0.05) IN THE VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS, A MARGINALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE (P = 0.06) IN PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS BUT NOT IN THE SOMATIC COMPONENT. EFFECT SIZES WERE HIGHER IN THE YOGA GROUP FOR ALL FACTORS. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER DEGREE OF DECREASE IN PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE SCORES (P < 0.001, INDEPENDENT SAMPLES T TEST) IN THE YOGA GROUP COMPARED WITH CONTROLS (BETWEEN-GROUP ANALYSIS) WITH A HIGHER EFFECT SIZE IN THE YOGA GROUP (1.10) THAN THE CONTROL (0.27). ON THE EYSENCK'S PERSONALITY INVENTORY, THE DECREASE IN NEUROTICISM WAS GREATER (P < 0.05) IN THE YOGA GROUP (EFFECT SIZE = 0.43) THAN THE CONTROL GROUP (EFFECT SIZE = 0.21) WITH NO CHANGE IN EXTROVERSION IN EITHER THE YOGA OR CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: EIGHT WEEKS OF AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO YOGA THERAPY DECREASES CLIMACTERIC SYMPTOMS, PERCEIVED STRESS, AND NEUROTICISM IN PERIMENOPAUSAL WOMEN BETTER THAN PHYSICAL EXERCISE. 2008 9 832 40 EFFECT OF YOGA ON MUSCULOSKELETAL DISCOMFORT AND MOTOR FUNCTIONS IN PROFESSIONAL COMPUTER USERS. THE SELF-RATED MUSCULOSKELETAL DISCOMFORT, HAND GRIP STRENGTH, TAPPING SPEED, AND LOW BACK AND HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY (BASED ON A SIT AND REACH TASK) WERE ASSESSED IN 291 PROFESSIONAL COMPUTER USERS. THEY WERE THEN RANDOMIZED AS YOGA (YG; N=146) AND WAIT-LIST CONTROL (WL; N=145) GROUPS. FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENTS FOR BOTH GROUPS WERE AFTER 60 DAYS DURING WHICH THE YG GROUP PRACTICED YOGA FOR 60 MINUTES DAILY, FOR 5 DAYS IN A WEEK. THE WL GROUP SPENT THE SAME TIME IN THEIR USUAL RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES. AT THE END OF 60 DAYS, THE YG GROUP (N=62) SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE FREQUENCY, INTENSITY AND DEGREE OF INTERFERENCE DUE TO MUSCULOSKELETAL DISCOMFORT, AN INCREASE IN BILATERAL HAND GRIP STRENGTH, THE RIGHT HAND TAPPING SPEED, AND LOW BACK AND HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY (REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA AND POST HOC ANALYSIS WITH BONFERRONI ADJUSTMENT). IN CONTRAST, THE WL GROUP (N=56) SHOWED AN INCREASE IN MUSCULOSKELETAL DISCOMFORT AND A DECREASE IN LEFT HAND TAPPING SPEED. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA PRACTICE IS A USEFUL ADDITION TO THE ROUTINE OF PROFESSIONAL COMPUTER USERS. 2009 10 1442 38 INCREASED MENTAL WELL-BEING AND REDUCED STATE ANXIETY IN TEACHERS AFTER PARTICIPATION IN A RESIDENTIAL YOGA PROGRAM. BACKGROUND REDUCING STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE IMPROVES MENTAL HEALTH. TEACHING IS OF SOCIAL IMPORTANCE, BUT IT MAY RECEIVE INADEQUATE RECOGNITION AND REWARDS. THE PRESENT STUDY COMPARED MENTAL WELL-BEING AND STATE ANXIETY IN PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS WHO PRACTICED 15 DAYS OF YOGA IN A RESIDENTIAL SETTING WITH THOSE WHO CONTINUED THEIR USUAL ROUTINE. MATERIAL AND METHODS WE ENROLLED 236 PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY. WE ASSIGNED 118 PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS (GROUP MEAN +/-S.D., AGE 41.5+/-6.0 YEARS, 74 FEMALES) TO THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP; THEY UNDERWENT 15 DAYS OF YOGA TRAINING FOR 6 HOURS/DAY) IN A RESIDENTIAL YOGA CENTER. THE NON-YOGA CONTROL GROUP (GROUP MEAN +/-S.D., AGE 42.3+/-6.0 YEARS, 79 FEMALES) CONSISTED OF 118 TEACHERS WHO CONTINUED WITH THEIR NORMAL TEACHING ROUTINE. RESULTS AFTER 15 DAYS IN THE RESIDENTIAL YOGA PROGRAM, THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN OVERALL MENTAL WELL-BEING (P<.001) AND LOWER STATE ANXIETY (P<.01) (REPEATED-MEASURES ANOVA, FOLLOWED BY POST HOC MULTIPLE COMPARISON TESTS). AT BASELINE, THE NON-YOGA CONTROL GROUP HAD HIGHER LEVELS OF STATE ANXIETY, PRESUMABLY RELATED TO THEIR REMAINING IN THE WORKPLACE. CONCLUSIONS THE STUDY WAS A 15-DAY, COMPARATIVE, CONTROLLED TRIAL. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT AFTER 15 DAYS OF PARTICIPATION IN THE RESIDENTIAL YOGA PROGRAM, PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS INCREASED ALL ASPECTS OF MENTAL WELL-BEING AND HAD REDUCED STATE ANXIETY. 2018 11 53 35 A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AND CLINICAL PILATES TRAINING ON WALKING, COGNITION, RESPIRATORY FUNCTIONS, AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PERSONS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY. OBJECTIVE: THE PURPOSE WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AND CLINICAL PILATES TRAINING ON WALKING, RESPIRATORY MUSCLE STRENGTH, COGNITION, AND QUALITY OF LIFE AND COMPARE THE EFFECTS OF TWO POPULAR EXERCISE METHODS IN PERSONS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (PWMS). METHODS: TWENTY-EIGHT PWMS (PILATES GROUP = 16, YOGA GROUP = 12) RECEIVED THE PROGRAM ONCE A WEEK FOR EIGHT WEEKS IN ADDITION TO HOME EXERCISES. AT BASELINE AND THE END OF THE TRAINING, PARTICIPANTS UNDERWENT ASSESSMENTS. THE OUTCOME MEASURES WERE WALKING SPEED, MOBILITY, BALANCE CONFIDENCE, RESPIRATORY MUSCLE STRENGTH, COGNITION, AND QUALITY OF LIFE. RESULTS: FOLLOWING THE PROGRAM, THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN MOBILITY (P = 0.482), PERCEIVED WALKING QUALITY (P = 0.325), RESPIRATORY MUSCLE STRENGTH (MAXIMUM INSPIRATORY PRESSURE: P = 0.263, MAXIMUM EXPIRATORY PRESSURE: P = 0.866), AND COGNITION (SYMBOL DIGIT MODALITIES TEST: P = 0.324, CALIFORNIA VERBAL LEARNING TEST-II: P = 0.514, BRIEF VISUOSPATIAL MEMORY TEST-REVISED: P = 0.279) BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS. IMPROVEMENTS WERE HIGHER IN BALANCE CONFIDENCE (P = 0.006), WALKING SPEED (P = 0.004), AND QUALITY OF LIFE (P = 0.019) IN THE CLINICAL PILATES GROUP COMPARED TO THE YOGA GROUP. CONCLUSION: THIS STUDY SHOWED POSITIVE EFFECTS IN WALKING AND RESPIRATORY ASPECTS IN PWMS WHO RECEIVED YOGA AND CLINICAL PILATES TRAINING. PILATES TRAINING WAS SUPERIOR IN IMPROVING WALKING SPEED, QUALITY OF LIFE, AND BALANCE CONFIDENCE COMPARED TO YOGA TRAINING. 2021 12 1355 28 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES ON ATTENTION IN CHILDREN. AIMS: TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES, NAMELY, CYCLIC MEDITATION (CM) AND SUPINE REST (SR), USING THE SIX LETTER CANCELLATION TASK (SLCT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE SUBJECTS CONSISTED OF 208 SCHOOL STUDENTS, (132 BOYS, 76 GIRLS) IN THE AGE RANGE OF 13 - 16 YEARS. THE SUBJECTS WERE ASSESSED ON SLCT BEFORE AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER BOTH YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. RESULTS: AFTER BOTH PRACTICES, THE TOTAL AND NET SCORES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED, ALTHOUGH THE MAGNITUDE OF CHANGE WAS MORE AFTER CM THAN AFTER SR IN THE NET SCORES (14.5 VERSUS 11.31%). THE NET SCORE CHANGE IN THE CM SESSION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER THAN THE CHANGE IN THE SR, WHEREAS, THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN THE WRONG CANCELLATION SCORE. AFTER EITHER PRACTICE, THE TOTAL AND NET SCORES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED, IRRESPECTIVE OF GENDER AND AGE. CONCLUSIONS: BOTH CM AND SR LED TO IMPROVEMENT IN PERFORMANCE, AS ASSESSED BY SLCT, BUT THE CHANGE CAUSED BY CM WAS LARGER THAN SR. 2010 13 277 30 ADDITIONAL PRACTICE OF YOGA BREATHING WITH INTERMITTENT BREATH HOLDING ENHANCES PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: THE PRACTICE OF YOGA IS ASSOCIATED WITH ENHANCED PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING. THE CURRENT STUDY ASSESSED THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE DURATION OF YOGA PRACTICE WITH STATE MINDFULNESS, MIND-WANDERING AND STATE ANXIETY. ALSO, WE EXAMINED IF AN ADDITIONAL 20 MIN OF YOGA BREATHING WITH INTERMITTENT BREATH HOLDING (EXPERIMENTAL GROUP) FOR 8 WEEKS WOULD AFFECT THESE PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES MORE THAN REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE (CONTROL GROUP) ALONE. METHODS: ONE HUNDRED SIXTEEN SUBJECTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EXPERIMENTAL (N = 60) AND CONTROL (N = 56) GROUPS. STATE MINDFULNESS ATTENTION AWARENESS SCALE (SMAAS), MIND-WANDERING QUESTIONNAIRE (MWQ) AND STATE ANXIETY INVENTORY WERE ADMINISTERED AT BASELINE AND AT THE END OF 8 WEEKS. RESULTS: BASELINE ASSESSMENT REVEALED A POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN DURATION OF YOGA PRACTICE WITH SMAAS SCORES AND NEGATIVE CORRELATION WITH MWQ AND STATE ANXIETY SCORES. AT THE END OF 8 WEEKS, BOTH GROUPS DEMONSTRATED ENHANCED PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS, BUT THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP RECEIVING ADDITIONAL YOGA BREATHING PERFORMED BETTER THAN THE GROUP PRACTICING YOGA ALONE. CONCLUSION: AN ADDITIONAL PRACTICE OF YOGA BREATHING WITH INTERMITTENT BREATH HOLDING WAS FOUND TO ENHANCE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS IN YOUNG ADULT YOGA PRACTITIONERS. 2018 14 768 31 EFFECT OF TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES ON MEMORY SCORES AND STATE ANXIETY. BACKGROUND: A YOGA PRACTICE INVOLVING CYCLES OF YOGA POSTURES AND SUPINE REST (CALLED CYCLIC MEDITATION) WAS PREVIOUSLY SHOWN TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE IN ATTENTION TASKS MORE THAN RELAXATION IN THE CORPSE POSTURE (SHAVASANA). THIS WAS ASCRIBED TO REDUCED ANXIETY, THOUGH THIS WAS NOT ASSESSED. METHODS: IN FIFTY-SEVEN MALE VOLUNTEERS (GROUP AVERAGE AGE +/- S.D., 26.6 +/- 4.5 YEARS) THE IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF TWO YOGA RELAXATION TECHNIQUES WAS STUDIED ON MEMORY AND STATE ANXIETY. ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER (I) CYCLIC MEDITATION (CM) PRACTICED FOR 22:30 MINUTES ON ONE DAY AND (II) AN EQUAL DURATION OF SUPINE REST (SR) OR THE CORPSE POSTURE (SHAVASANA), ON ANOTHER DAY. SECTIONS OF THE WECHSLER MEMORY SCALE (WMS) WERE USED TO ASSESS; (I) ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION (DIGIT SPAN FORWARD AND BACKWARD), AND (II) ASSOCIATE LEARNING. STATE ANXIETY WAS ASSESSED USING SPIELBERGER'S STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY (STAI). RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN THE SCORES OF ALL SECTIONS OF THE WMS STUDIED AFTER BOTH CM AND SR, BUT, THE MAGNITUDE OF CHANGE WAS MORE AFTER CM COMPARED TO AFTER SR. THE STATE ANXIETY SCORES DECREASED AFTER BOTH CM AND SR, WITH A GREATER MAGNITUDE OF DECREASE AFTER CM. THERE WAS NO CORRELATION BETWEEN PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN MEMORY SCORES AND STATE ANXIETY FOR EITHER SESSION. CONCLUSION: A CYCLICAL COMBINATION OF YOGA POSTURES AND SUPINE REST IN CM IMPROVED MEMORY SCORES IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE PRACTICE AND DECREASED STATE ANXIETY MORE THAN REST IN A CLASSICAL YOGA RELAXATION POSTURE (SHAVASANA). 2009 15 2234 29 THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON TEACHERS' SELF-RATED EMOTIONS. OBJECTIVES: TO ASSESS (I) IF TEACHERS' AGE OR GENDER COULD PREDICT THEIR BASELINE LEVELS OF MENTAL WELL-BEING AND ANXIETY AND ANY CHANGE AFTER YOGA. (II) WHETHER MENTAL WELL-BEING OR ANXIETY CHANGED FOLLOWING 15 DAYS OF YOGA IN PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS. PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS TOOK PART IN THIS SINGLE GROUP LONGITUDINAL TRIAL (N = 302, GROUP MEAN AGE +/- SD; 41.8 +/- 5.90 YEARS). THEY RECEIVED 240 MIN OF YOGA PRACTICE AND 120 MIN OF YOGA THEORY EACH DAY. AT BASELINE AND AFTER 15 DAYS OF YOGA THE ASSESSMENTS WERE (I) MENTAL WELL-BEING (WARWICK-EDINBURGH SCALE) AND (II) STATE ANXIETY (SPIELBERGER'S STATE TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY). RESULTS: GENDER ACTED AS A SIGNIFICANT PREDICTOR FOR MENTAL WELL-BEING SCORES (P = 0.001) AND STATE ANXIETY (P = 0.005) IN THE GROUP AT BASELINE. FEMALES SHOWED HIGHER ANXIETY SCORES AND LOWER MENTAL WELL-BEING SCORES. FOLLOWING YOGA THE TEACHERS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN MENTAL WELL-BEING BY 5.84% AND A DECREASE IN STATE ANXIETY BY 4.48%. TRIAL REGISTRATION THE TRIAL WAS REGISTERED RETROSPECTIVELY (AUGUST 15, 2019; TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN90253431). 2019 16 1760 37 POSITIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PHYSICAL AND RESPIRATORY FUNCTIONS IN HEALTHY INACTIVE MIDDLE-AGED PEOPLE. CONTEXT: YOGA IMPROVES PHYSICAL AND RESPIRATORY FUNCTIONS IN HEALTHY INACTIVE MIDDLE-AGED PEOPLE. AIM: THIS STUDY AIMED TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF 8 WEEKS OF ASANA AND ASANA WITH PRANAYAMA LESSONS IN ORDER TO CLARIFY THE INFLUENCE OF TWO DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS OF YOGA PRACTICE ON PHYSICAL AND RESPIRATORY FUNCTIONS IN HEALTHY INACTIVE MIDDLE-AGED PEOPLE. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A TOTAL OF 28 PARTICIPANTS (MEAN AGE: 52.7 YEARS) WERE DIVIDED INTO A YOGA ASANA (YA) GROUP AND YA WITH PRANAYAMA (YAP) GROUP. PARTICIPANTS ATTENDED A 70-MIN SESSION ONCE A WEEK FOR 8 WEEKS. THE YA GROUP PRACTICED BASIC ASANA WITHOUT SPECIFIC BREATHING INSTRUCTIONS, WHILE THE YAP GROUP PRACTICED BASIC ASANA WITH SPECIFIC BREATHING INSTRUCTIONS (PRANAYAMA). RESPIRATORY FUNCTION WAS MEASURED WITH AN AUTOSPIROMETER. PHYSICAL FUNCTION ASSESSMENTS INCLUDED THE 30-S CHAIR STAND TEST AND UPPER AND LOWER EXTREMITY FLEXIBILITY. ALL TESTS WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND AFTER 8 WEEKS OF INTERVENTION. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: CHANGES IN SCORES WERE ANALYZED WITH THE PAIRED T-TEST FOR EACH GROUP. PRE-POST RESULTS WERE COMPARED FOR ALL THE MEASURED VALUES. P < 0.05 WAS CONSIDERED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. RESULTS: BOTH GROUPS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN PHYSICAL AND OVERALL RESPIRATORY FUNCTIONS AFTER THE 8-WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION. HOWEVER, THE MAXIMAL INSPIRATORY PRESSURE AND LOWER EXTREMITY FLEXIBILITY IMPROVED ONLY IN THE YAP GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: THE 8-WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION FOR HEALTHY INACTIVE MIDDLE-AGED PEOPLE IMPROVED THE OVERALL RESPIRATORY AND PHYSICAL FUNCTIONS, AND THE INCLUSION OF PRANAYAMA HAD THE ADDED BENEFIT OF IMPROVING INSPIRATORY MUSCLE STRENGTH AND GLOBAL BODY FLEXIBILITY. 2019 17 1762 42 POST TRAUMATIC STRESS SYMPTOMS AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN BIHAR FLOOD SURVIVORS FOLLOWING YOGA: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. BACKGROUND: AN EARLIER STUDY SHOWED THAT A WEEK OF YOGA PRACTICE WAS USEFUL IN STRESS MANAGEMENT AFTER A NATURAL CALAMITY. DUE TO HEAVY RAIN AND A RIFT ON THE BANKS OF THE KOSI RIVER, IN THE STATE OF BIHAR IN NORTH INDIA, THERE WERE FLOODS WITH LOSS OF LIFE AND PROPERTY. A WEEK OF YOGA PRACTICE WAS GIVEN TO THE SURVIVORS A MONTH AFTER THE EVENT AND THE EFFECT WAS ASSESSED. METHODS: TWENTY-TWO VOLUNTEERS (GROUP AVERAGE AGE +/- S.D, 31.5 +/- 7.5 YEARS; ALL OF THEM WERE MALES) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO TWO GROUPS, YOGA AND A NON-YOGA WAIT-LIST CONTROL GROUP. THE YOGA GROUP PRACTICED YOGA FOR AN HOUR DAILY WHILE THE CONTROL GROUP CONTINUED WITH THEIR ROUTINE ACTIVITIES. BOTH GROUPS' HEART RATE VARIABILITY, BREATH RATE, AND FOUR SYMPTOMS OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS USING VISUAL ANALOG SCALES, WERE ASSESSED ON THE FIRST AND EIGHTH DAY OF THE PROGRAM. RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN SADNESS IN THE YOGA GROUP (P < 0.05, PAIRED T-TEST, POST DATA COMPARED TO PRE) AND AN INCREASE IN ANXIETY IN THE CONTROL GROUP (P < 0.05, PAIRED T-TEST, POST DATA COMPARED TO PRE). CONCLUSIONS: A WEEK OF YOGA CAN REDUCE FEELINGS OF SADNESS AND POSSIBLY PREVENT AN INCREASE IN ANXIETY IN FLOOD SURVIVORS A MONTH AFTER THE CALAMITY. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY OF INDIA: CTRI/2009/091/000285. 2010 18 820 40 EFFECT OF YOGA ON DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF MENTAL HEALTH. STATE ANXIETY, SOMATIZATION OF STRESS, QUALITY OF LIFE, SELF-RATED QUALITY OF SLEEP, AND DISCOMFORT DUE TO OVER-BREATHING WHICH OCCURS WHEN STRESSED WERE STUDIED. OUT OF A TOTAL OF 140 PARTICIPANTS, SEVENTY PARTICIPANTS SELF-SELECTED TO BE IN A YOGA GROUP FOR STRESS RELIEF (GROUP MEAN AGE +/- SD, 33.0 +/- 6.5 YEARS; 37 MALES). SEVENTY AGE AND GENDER MATCHED PARTICIPANTS WERE IN A CONTROL GROUP. STATE ANXIETY, SOMATIZATION OF STRESS, QUALITY OF LIFE, DISCOMFORT AND SELF-RATED QUALITY OF SLEEP WERE ASSESSED USING THE STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY, SYMPTOM CHECKLIST-90-R, SF-12, NIJMEGEN DISCOMFORT EVALUATION SCALE AND A SLEEP RATING QUESTIONNAIRE RESPECTIVELY. ASSESSMENTS WERE MADE AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF THE WEEK. REPEATED MEASURES ANOVAS WITH BONFERRONI ADJUSTED POST-HOC ANALYSES SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN STATE ANXIETY (P < 0.001), SOMATIZATION OF STRESS (P < 0.01), IMPROVED HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (P < 0.01), SELF-RATED QUALITY OF SLEEP (P < 0.01), AND DECREASE IN DISCOMFORT DUE TO OVER-BREATHING (P < 0.001). NO CHANGES (EXCEPT DECREASED DISCOMFORT DUE TO OVER-BREATHING; P < 0.01) OCCURRED IN THE CONTROL GROUP. THIS STUDY SUGGESTS THAT A BRIEF YOGA PROGRAM MAY BE BENEFICIAL IN DECREASING ANXIETY, SOMATIZATION OF STRESS AND DISCOMFORT, IMPROVING HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AND SELF-RATED SLEEP QUALITY. 2012 19 771 41 EFFECT OF YOGA AND AEROBICS EXERCISE ON SLEEP QUALITY IN WOMEN WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF 12 WEEKS OF YOGA AND AEROBIC EXERCISE (RUNNING ON A TREADMILL) ON THE SLEEP QUALITY IN WOMEN WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 39 DIABETIC WOMEN WERE SELECTED FROM SEMNAN CITY WITH THE MEAN AGE OF 46.85+/-3.35 YEARS, WEIGHT OF 69.79+/-17.18 KG, HEIGHT OF 155.03+/-5.00, BMI OF 29.64+/-5.00 KG/M(2) WHO HAD A BACKGROUND OF DIABETES FOR 6.46+/-2.69 YEARS. THEY WERE THEN RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO YOGA EXERCISE (N=15), AEROBIC EXERCISE (N=13), AND CONTROL GROUP (N=11). THE EXERCISE PROGRAM WAS PERFORMED FOR 12 WEEKS, THREE SESSIONS PER EACH WEEK. IN ORDER TO MEASURE THE SLEEP QUALITY, THE PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX (PSQI) WAS USED. THE DATA WERE ANALYZED BY NON-PARAMETRIC WILCOXON AND KRUSKAL-WALLIS TEST AT SIGNIFICANCE LEVEL OF P<0.05. RESULTS: OVERALL SCORE OF SLEEP QUALITY IMPROVED AFTER SIX (P=0.001) AND 12 (P=0.001) WEEKS OF YOGA EXERCISE. ALSO, SIGNIFICANT EFFECT WAS OBSERVED AFTER 6 WEEKS OF AEROBIC EXERCISE (P=0.039). HOWEVER, THE POSITIVE EFFECT WAS DIMINISHED TO UNDER SIGNIFICANT LEVELS AFTER 12 WEEKS OF AEROBIC EXERCISE (P=0.154). KRUSKAL-WALLIS TEST SHOWED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOGA AND AEROBIC GROUPS AFTER 12 WEEKS OF EXERCISE (P=0.002). NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED IN CONTROL GROUPS IN ALL SITUATION. CONCLUSIONS: IT CAN BE CONCLUDED THAT YOGA EXERCISE IS MORE EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING THE SLEEP QUALITY IN COMPARISON WITH THE SAME COURSE OF AEROBIC EXERCISE IN WOMEN SUFFERING FROM DIABETES TYPE 2. THUS, YOGA EXERCISE CAN BE SUGGESTED TO THESE PATIENTS. 2017 20 769 41 EFFECT OF UNILATERAL LEFT NOSTRIL BREATHING (CHANDRA ANGA PRANAYAMA) ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN HEALTHY YOGA-NAIVE INDIVIDUALS: A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED, PILOT STUDY. INTRODUCTION: BREATHING MODULATES CORTICAL NEURONAL ACTIVITY. VARIOUS BREATHING EXERCISES ARE PURPORTED TO HAVE SPECIFIC EFFECTS ON EMOTIONAL AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS. OBJECTIVE: TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF UNILATERAL LEFT NOSTRIL BREATHING (ULNB) ON NONLATERALIZED, OVERALL COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS USING COMPUTERIZED PSYCHOMETRIC TESTS. METHODS: A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED, PILOT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AMONG 20 HEALTHY YOGA-NAIVE MEDICAL STUDENTS. ULNB WAS PERFORMED FOR 15 MIN BY THE TEST GROUP (N = 10) AND BREATH AWARENESS BY THE CONTROL GROUP (N = 10). ATTENTION AND PROCESSING SPEED, MEMORY, AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION WERE ASSESSED USING THE LETTER-DIGIT SUBSTITUTION TEST, STERNBERG MEMORY TASK, AND VICTORIA STROOP TEST, RESPECTIVELY. BASELINE, PRE- AND POSTINTERVENTION SCORES WERE RECORDED. RESULTS: THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GROUPS IN BASELINE SCORES. IN THE STERNBERG MEMORY TASK, A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN RESPONSE TIME WAS SEEN IN THE TEST (T(9) = 3.855, P = 0.004) AS WELL AS THE CONTROL GROUP (T(9) = 3.120, P = 0.012); THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GROUPS. NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT OF UNLB WAS SEEN IN THE LETTER-DIGIT SUBSTITUTION TEST AND STROOP TEST. CONCLUSIONS: OUR STUDY SHOWED NO DIFFERENCE IN THE EFFECTS OF 15-MIN PRACTICE OF ULNB AND BREATH AWARENESS ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS; BOTH IMPROVED MEMORY BUT NOT ATTENTION OR EXECUTIVE FUNCTION. 2020